Sundance Review: The Blazing World (2021)

Decades after the accidental drowning of her twin sister, a self-destructive young woman returns to her family home, finding herself drawn to an alternate dimension where her sister may still be alive.

What caught my attention from The Blazing World was seeing Carlson Young in the director’s chair, I thought her role in the Scream TV series was quite great and always have liked her. So when I saw this on the Sundance lineup I definitely made to sure to check this one out, I’ll start by saying The Blazing World is not going to be for everyone, it’s a very different type of horror/thriller with a lot of fantasy elements. Carlson Young nails it in the director’s chair and as the leading role she really brings out her full talent which really shows a lot of promise in her directing career. The Blazing World feels like a very strange hybrid of Pan’s Labyrinth, Labyrinth, Alice In Wonderland and parts of The Shinning. The film is in it’s own little world and the film just brings us along for the ride. What makes this movie however is Young’s direction she has a really great taste when it comes to telling a interesting but very weird story through visuals and making the film weird as possible. Which gives The Blazing World it’s own identity, it’s one of those movies that is just bizarre with a lot of beautiful visuals that tell a story. Which I do believe makes up for the writing, the writing is definitely not one The Blazing World’s strongest points it feels a little too simplistic at times. However that really does not stop the film from being really great, if you are a fan of movies that have weird as hell visuals you are going to fall in love with The Blazing World. Check this out when it releases!!

8/10 B+

Sundance Reviews : Marvelous And The Black Hole and Mayday (2021) Movie Reviews!

A teenage delinquent teams up with a surly children’s party magician to navigate her dysfunctional family and inner demons.

When it comes to Sundance 2021 films Marvelous And The Black Hole always seems to be missing from the conversation, it’s a very underrated film from the festival that really has a lot of heart! Marvelous And The Black Hole might be familiar in some ways, but what makes the film is as I said in my reaction the heart and soul of the film. Miya Cech and Rhea Pearlman bring so much to their performances and the chemistry between the two is just incredibly sweet. It’s a very heartwarming movie that shows a lot of talent and displays tons of emotions, there are sad parts, hilarious moments, dark moments and so much more. So the film does have a variety which is quite great to see, the writing is pretty clever sure it does fall into some familiar territory but for the most part it does come up with some clever tricks and brings in some very interesting scenes. The coming of age aspect is quite interesting, it’s a different take on the coming of age movie genre that is familiar yet tries things a little different. Overall Marvelous And The Black Hole is incredibly solid, I really hope this one releases soon!!

7/10 B

Ana is transported to a dreamlike and dangerous land where she joins an army of girls engaged in a never-ending war along a rugged coast.

I probably should have reviewed Mayday earlier given that there really isn’t a whole lot to say about it but oh well. Mayday sounded interesting in concept which is why I watched it at Sundance, however the film itself is just very very okay. There are things to really like about Mayday such as the atmosphere it was actually pretty great, it definitely tries to stay throughout the film and does capture the mood it’s going for. Mia Goth continues to show that she’s a criminally underrated actress she’s definitely the best part about Mayday by a lot. What kills Mayday is the second act, it never fully recovers and just continues till it ends, the second act is just nowhere near as interesting or compelling as what the film set it up to be. Which is very unfortunate because the filmmaking is quite great such as the cinematography capturing the beautiful landscape. Mayday really could have been something great but that’s sadly not the case here, this may work for some people but unfortunately it didn’t work me.

5/10 C

Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar and The Map Of Tiny Perfect Things (2021) Movie Reviews

Lifelong friends Barb and Star embark on the adventure of a lifetime when they decide to leave their small Midwestern town for the first time – ever.

I will tell you one thing I was NOT expecting, that I would end up liking Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar. The film was supposed to come out in theaters but like some other movies got switched to a premium VOD release, I knew absolutely nothing about this movie going into it. The film itself has this personality to it that I really like, it’s very bright and colorful with some great performances from Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig and Jamie Dornan, all three of which have quite a great chemistry with one another. However the chemistry between Mumolo and Wiig is quite hilarious, the jokes the two share are quite great and got a ton of laughs out of me. Something not many films have been doing as of late so I give huge props to that. The film is very silly but charming at the same time, which is what truly helps the film in the long run. It has a silly plot with very ridiculous villains but the film is aware of that, it makes jokes of pretty much any scene happening in the movie which is truly great. The writing gives the audience some cleverly written jokes which is again refreshing to see, but overall Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar is a huge blast of a movie, I highly recommend giving this one a watch!!

7/10 B

Two teens who live the same day repeatedly, enabling them to create the titular map.

Well this was a surprise, Ian Samuels who previously did Sierra Burgess is a big loser shows a vast improvement with The Map Of Tiny Perfect Things. Remember back in my Palm Springs review where I said that Palm Springs took the whole Groundhog Day concept and changed it up to make it it’s own? Well the same applies here with The Map Of Tiny Perfect Things, although it may not be as good as Palm Springs. The movie still has a ton of charm and is very well written, Kathryn Newton and Kyle Allen have wonderful chemistry with one another and both give really solid performances. As I said before the Groundhog Day concept feels very fresh here, it’s done in a way that seems familiar yet manages to be new at the same time. The writing also feels raw at times especially when we get a ton of character moments, that’s where the movie shines the most. When it focuses on the characters and talks about their backgrounds and what they are thinking in the situation in question. Overall The Map Of Tiny Perfect Things is a well made movie that I recommend giving a watch!

7/10 B

Catchup Reviews: The Wanting Mare and The Reckoning (2021)

In Whithren, a line of women pass a recurring dream through multiple generations.

The Wanting Mare is a very interesting little movie, that brings you into it’s own little world. A world that’s definitely interesting to visit, it’s one of those films that feels very bizarre and you question “what the hell is happening” but at the same time you are intrigued. The fantasy and sci-fi elements are really interesting and quite welcoming, they bring something new to the table. The acting and writing have this sort of fantasy feel to them that makes the movie’s own identity which is very unique, it captures this imaginative feel. While you are watching it also feels like you are in a dreamlike state, it’s a very interesting experience that you will definitely think about after watching. The direction is quite great combine that with the cinematography and you have a beautiful film, go into this one blindly!

7/10 B

Evelyn, a young widow haunted by the recent suicide of her husband Joseph, is falsely accused of being a witch by her Landlord after she rejects his advances.

Question….What happened to Neil Marshall? Remember when use to be really great? Dog Soldiers and The Descent were great films, he seriously had a lot of promise as a director. Then Hellboy (2019) which was easily one of the worst of 2019, when I heard he was making another movie I was really hoping he would make a comeback…sadly that’s not the case. The Reckoning is a horrendous movie that often forgets what it’s set out to do, the “burn the witch” genre has been done to death numerous times and here it combines every last cliche in the book, what seals this movie’s fate is the garbage writing. A lot of the writing makes little to no sense and it keeps having to remind the audience about simple plot devices that we are already fully aware of, the acting is just as terrible with little to no direction and every single one of the actors and actresses failing to bring any sort of energy in their role. There is one or two “it’s so bad it’s hilarious” moments but that is truly not enough to save this mess of a movie. Avoid this one at all costs.

Disgrace To Cinema F

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

Rewind to the 1980s as Wonder Woman’s next big screen adventure finds her facing two all-new foes: Max Lord and The Cheetah.

I think the biggest question that should be asked here is “What the hell happened?” Wonder Woman (2017) I thought was a very strong film and for awhile was my favorite of the DCEU (until Birds Of Prey came but Wonder Woman is still my second favorite) I was very open to the idea of a sequel but that’s until the trailer hit where I knew they were going to go a completely different route from the first film. Way more cartoonish and removes a lot of the silent and strong character moments that the first movie had. I’ll start with what I liked, by far the best thing this movie has going for it is the score. Hans Zimmer did quite a great job with it and the music does match certain scenes. There’s a few action scenes I liked while not exactly great they were fine enough to have fun with, Kristen Wiig I thought actually did her best with what she had to work with (even though her performance was honestly not good) Pedro Pascal at least seems like he’s having fun with role, he’s not good don’t get me wrong the role does not match him at all. But at least he’s trying his best….everything else is just very disappointing. The first 10 minutes really suckers you into believing that you are going to be getting something similar to the first film but that’s not the case. Gal Gadot just did not do a good job here, I’m not exactly sure what happened in between the first movie and now but the difference is very noticeable, Gal Gadot just doesn’t bring the strength she had in the first film. There were nowhere near the amount of strong emotional moments that helped the first movie, a lot of it felt bare minimum character moments that don’t really don’t add to anything. Kristen Wiig as I said before I thought was fine enough…that’s until she turned into Cheetah, I understand they had to throw a well known villain into the film. But good lord Wiig’s transformation to Cheetah appeared at the last 15-20 minutes of the film, it really felt like an afterthought like it wasn’t even planned to be in the movie but someone said “we need to throw in a well known villain” writing wise there is absolutely nothing here that brings anything new to the table, it’s the same typical comic book movie writing that’s been done to death. The writing lacks character growth, no real progression or anything memorable. I almost forgot to mention Chris Pine who looked like he did not want to be on set, sure there were moments when Pine and Gadot had some chemistry together but those were very far and few in between. I really wanted to like Wonder Woman 1984 I really did, but there was way too much sticking out like a sore thumb that can’t be just ignored. This is what happens when comic book movies do the absolute bare minimum and don’t try to do anything else.

4/10 D+

Godmothered (2020)

A young and unskilled fairy godmother ventures out on her own to prove her worth by tracking down a young girl whose request for help was ignored.

One thing Disney+ really needs to work on is advertising their original films, this is another case like Togo, Clouds and a few others where the advertising was just nonexistent. As for the actual movie it’s actually not too bad, Godmothered is essentially this year’s Noelle only that I would say it’s much better. Godmothered also does feel like a clone of Enchanted as it does borrow a lot from it, but at least the movie is fun and has some very genuine moments. Isla Fisher and Jillian Bell both do a very solid job in their roles, there are some jokes that surprisingly do work sure some of it is very Disney Channel type humor. But then you have some moments where the jokes are actually quite okay, speaking of which Godmothered does fall on the line between Disney Channel Original Movie and Disney+ Original Movie, but that’s not necessarily a bad case here because the movie embraces it. Godmothered knows what it wants to be and is straight to the point about it, it doesn’t try to be more then it really is or any less. Overall I say give Godmothered a go it’s a quick and easy watch!

6/10 C+

Dolly Patton’s Christmas On The Square and Jiu Jitsu (2020)

An embittered “Scrooge” of a woman plans to sell her small town, regardless of the consequences to the people who live there.

Dolly Patton’s Christmas On The Square is basically A Christmas Carol but Dolly Parton thrown in and I honestly don’t mind that at all. This movie might not be anywhere near good, but there is seriously a lot to like about this movie. Some of the songs are quite great and surprisingly have some emotion to them which I really did not expect. Christine Baranski is actually not too bad in her role, the same can be said with Dolly Parton. Every single time Parton comes on screen you can’t help but smile, with that said yes the writing is super cheesy and a lot of the acting is not very good. But I just couldn’t help but have a lot of fun with this movie, it’s definitely one of the Netflix Christmas Original movies that could keep my interest, knows what it’s goal is and at least embraces what it really is. A severally flawed but a blast of fun musical!

6/10 C+

Every six years, an ancient order of jiu-jitsu fighters joins forces to battle a vicious race of alien invaders. But when a celebrated war hero goes down in defeat, the fate of the planet and mankind hangs in the balance.

Jiu Jitsu runs into so many problems it’s not even funny, I was hoping this would be one of those it’s “so bad it’s hilarious” type films. Unfortunately that is not the case, Nicholas Cage doesn’t even appear until halfway into the film. Plus there aren’t any memorable Nicholas Cage moments in this movie, leaving it as a terrible action movie that falls apart very quickly. The acting and writing are both garbage, the costumes feel like they are straight out of Power Rangers. Nicholas Cage is hands down the best part about but he can’t even save it, Frank Grillo is just sort of there and it’s easily his worst performance in awhile. Overall there really isn’t much to Jiu Jitsu it completely misses the opportunity to be absolutely stupid and fun.

1/10 F

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)

An imaginary world comes to life in a holiday tale of an eccentric toymaker, his adventurous granddaughter, and a magical invention that has the power to change their lives forever.

I’m not sure which is more surprising…David E. Talbert finally making an actual decent movie or that this is the best Christmas Netflix Original movie since Klaus. It’s definitely not something I would say is really great, but it has a lot going for it. For starters the music and the singing blend very well together, everyone did a very good job when it comes to singing. The acting was decent enough and the writing did have some heartwarming moments as well. The one major flaw with this movie is the running time, it’s 2 hours and 2 minutes which it definitely did not need to be. Some scenes really drag out and are only dragged out so they can make the running time. Trim at least 15-20 minutes of the film and you would still have the same movie. With that said Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey is a very fun Christmas movie that families will definitely love!

6/10 C+

Kindred, Triggered and Mortal (2020)

Plagued by mysterious hallucinations, a pregnant woman suspects that the family of her deceased boyfriend has intentions for her unborn child.

Kindred is one of those movies where in concept it sounds very interesting but it ends not really doing much, I will praise the acting I thought all around it was pretty solid and everyone gave a decent performance. I also thought the filming was quite decent as well, it showed some beautiful shots that were captivating. What brings this movie down however is it really doesn’t do much until the end, it takes way too long for it to get going and by the time things start getting interesting the movie is almost over. I understand what Kindred was going for and I do think that it will work for some people, I just feel the writing wasn’t as strong as it could have been and really didn’t bring out this film’s full potential. I give it a pass because it is an overall well crafted movie that does have some great atmosphere and strong moments. It could have just been so much better.

6/10 C+

9 old high school “friends” have a 5 year reunion camping in a forest. They all have secrets. Their old science teacher straps a time-bomb to each of them. Killing another gives one their time. Last one lives.

Alastair Orr who previous directed Indigenous (which was terrible), House On Willow Street (which was fine enough) and a few other films is back. Triggered is basically a terrible version of Battle Royale mixed with some elements from Saw, in fact there was already a movie exactly like that which came out earlier this year…The Hunt. It does barely anything differently the only difference this time is the characters have a bomb strapped onto them, that’s the only major difference everything else plays out exactly how you would expect. Which really is a shame because there are ways they could have made this movie have the same premise but change up a few things. Yes the kills are pretty solid and is by far the best thing about Triggered but everything else is just the exact same, none of it is necessarily horrendous (except the script) it’s just flat out unimaginative and really has little to offer. It’s a fine movie to put on if you have nothing else to watch and only want good kills otherwise it’s not worth watching!

4/10 D+

Fantasy adventure origin story about a young man discovering he has God-like powers based on ancient Norwegian mythology.

I honestly could not believe this was actually directed by Andrè Øverdal, he previously directed Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, The Autopsy Of Jane Doe and Trollhunter which are all pretty strong movies, unfortunately Mortal is not. I appreciate Øverdal trying to expand into a different genre but it just did not work here at all, Nat Wolff is fine enough but really does not bring a whole lot to the film. When you really get down to it Mortal is a very below average superhero origin story movie, it has some decent visuals that look quite great. But everything else is just very basic and a lot of elements everyone has seen before, the writing isn’t there, the acting is very okay and the story is really not that interesting. I don’t recommend this one.

5/10 C

The Place Of No Words (2020)